Gettering and Gettering Stability of Metals at Oxide Particles in Silicon

Abstract

ABSTRACTSeveral aspects of metal gettering at internal oxide particle sites in Cz Si have been studied by ‘haze tests’, scanning infra-red microscopy (SIRM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Haze tests indicated that complete gettering of Cu, Ni, Co and Pd can occur even when the amount of oxygen precipitated is below the detectable limit. TEM showed that the gettering of Cu, Pd and Ni proceeds by one of three different self-perpetuating mechanisms involving oxide particles and associated dislocations, the particular mechanism depending on the oxide particle size and the metal type. Haze tests and SIRM showed that for Cu and Ni there were minimum oxide particle number densities for effective gettering, and also maximum oxide particle number densities above which the additional oxide particles played no role in the gettering. These number densities depended on the metal type and specimen cooling rate. For all of these gettering behaviours, mechanisms are suggested to explain the results. The SIRM was also used to investigate for Cu and Ni the thermal stability of the gettering sites and the precipitated metals. The results showed that during repeated heat treatments the gettering occurs by a dynamic process.